The present invention relates generally to electrical cables or lines, and in particular to an electrical cable/line that includes at least one insulated conductor.
In order to provide shielding from electromagnetic fields, electrical cables/lines are, for example, surrounded by a braid of electrically conductive material. The braid is fabricated, for example, from metal wire or threads composed of electrically conductive polymers. Both the process of actually fabricating such braids and the process of jacketing an electrical line or electrical cable with a braid of this type requires some effort which is reflected in high fabrication costs.
While lines and cables jacketed with a wire braid are in fact characterized by high flexibility, they do not possess the optimal shielding. Optimal shielding is achieved only by using a solid jacket, such as that found in a solid-jacket coaxial line, also called a semi-rigid coaxial line. In a solid-jacket coaxial line, the shielding outer line is made in a semi-rigid form, using copper tubing, for example.
The more flexible the implementation of a shielded line, the less impervious the conductor is to high frequency (HF) radiation. On the other hand, the more impervious a line is in its ability to provide shielding from electromagnetic fields, the less flexibility it possesses. Any improvement in one of these two parameters, flexibility and HF imperviousness, has typically resulted in a relatively large diminution of the other parameter.
What is needed is an electrical cable/line that combines both high flexibility with a high level of shielding.